Author Interview, Pee Jay Bayliss

Author Interview #13, with the ever-so-lovely New Zealander, P J Bayliss!

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Jess: Have you written erotic-themed material? Why or why not?

P J Bayliss: Yes I have written Erotica themed material. I was encouraged to do so by a set of (female) friends who were very satisfied with my Poetry and erotic-themed short story scenes. They suggested I entered a competition (The Gathering 2012) & I subsequently entered the SYTYCW2012 competition.

Jess: Cool! How do you differentiate quality erotica (as an art form), from pornographic writing?

P J Bayliss: I challenged myself on this question with a blog entry: 'can a man write romance?' I looked at the top Romance stories, their story lines, and authors to help define a moral ground for myself.

I believe emotions, story lines, ploys, and moral backgrounds are all composite materials to erotica whereas pornographic writing is more biased to depicting sexual acts. I try to push the boundaries of erotica through my poetry as much as possible through expressive words and metaphors to present my 'artwork'.

Jess: Nice blog post;) I shall now ask how you would respond to the following statement:

“I am very put off by the notion of 'literate smut', as if any porn is intellectual, that erotica needs to have a high and low art distinction. I think this is just a pretentious way for people to excuse their taste for pornography.”
-- originally posted on http://www.barbelith.com/topic/925

P J Bayliss: We live in a dawn of changing times when it comes to sexuality and human inter-relationships. Traditional understandings of sexual acts have now proven to be healthy practices within marital situations. Scientific research suggests healthier living & improved quality of life with these practices.

As an Erotica writer and natural artist, I am passionate to understand and apply as much as I can about sexuality, love, desire, and lust. From ancient Greek gods to the latest Kinsey studies. I do not want to simply scratch the surface by writing about acts of sex, or pornography.

Jess: What inspired you to write erotic stories/poems/etc.?

P J Bayliss: My original inspiration came from a 'tingling' sensation I received while reading a romance novel.

My family, friends I met online, and strangers that read my original works on Twitter then encouraged me. It has all snowballed from there.

Jess: Do you always follow the "safe, sane, consensual" credo?

P J Bayliss: At this stage yes, however, I do plan to divert from the 'safe' aspect of this credo in order to present a problem to a population that I believe is rushing into the BDSM aspect of life.

Jess: Good. What do you think readers will find most notable about your book(s)?

P J Bayliss: My ability to draw the reader into the sensual scenes and really feel the emotions of the characters as they read.

Jess: In order to write on certain experiences, you would have to either research or live the life. Which describes you as the writer?

P J Bayliss: I spend a lot of time researching where I need to. It's not entirely practical to live out every fantasy I intend to write.

Jess: Do you think erotica caters to a male or female market (or does gender of the target audience not matter)?

P J Bayliss: It's most aligned to a female population, if written appropriately, with emotions and romantic force.

Jess: Are there any topics you will NOT tackle, with regards to sexual behaviors and attitudes?

P J Bayliss: I am reluctant to tackle Sadism & Masochism at this point in time. Hardcore sex scenes are also challenging.

Jess: Please share with us a short excerpt and blurb of your work (10-100 words).

P J Bayliss:

The serpent slowly rises as a King to the throne, quivering with scented sight of her precious dome, amid rich treacle and gush of sweet innocence, she beckons me to join her with vigorous relent.

Like a stone plunged into a deep still pond, ripples fan out from my scorching hot wand, my firm hand delivers five slivers of pain, her sudden cry of ecstasy resounds like rain. Her face soon adorns a flush of pink glow, as my stream of white hot foam does flow, locked together we embrace each others soul, as the ambrosia of lust swirls within her bowl.

Jess: Share an excerpt of your favorite author’s work (10-100 words):

P J Bayliss:

I don't really have any particular favorite authors yet. Still learning the ropes.

Jess: Thanks so much for sharing your perspectives on the art of erotic writing :) Best wishes with both life and literature too!

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PEE JAY BAYLISS (in his own words):

I'm PJ Bayliss & I live in New Zealand with my family within rural Waikato where I focus on my passion for poetry and creative writing. My works are fantasy-based and inspired by friends, Erotica authors, and poets from around the world. My initial work titled "Restraint" is poetry-based and it's a prelude to "Chronicle" which is a non-fiction romance novel.

I'm also working on a project involving a series of novels under the name "A Chemical Romance" which includes three works: Admission, Inception, Deception. Details for these books are located on my website www.pjbayliss.com.

My reasoning for writing Erotica is due to the fascination I have with this fast-growing popular culture. From an early age I have always been expressive in my sexuality and I wish to produce sensual, classy romance writing that immerses the reader into the action.

You may find me online here: Website | Twitter | LinkedIn | Blog | Amazon Author Profile

JESS C SCOTT:

Jess is the author/artist/non-conformist behind jessINK (her indie publishing division). One of her specializations is erotic literature.

If you are reading this and you write, in whatever genre, and would like to share your views via a similar interview, just check out/fill out the form at Author Interviews. Jess will email you with the link once it is posted.

Jess is available for interviews too. Drop her a note at missfeyATgmailDOTcom :)

Author Interview, M.O.N.

Author Interview #12, with M.O.N., who writes philosophical erotica (published by gn0mebooks)!

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Jess: Have you written erotic-themed material? Why or why not?

M.O.N.: Yes, a short work entitled ObliviOnanisM, which I describe as a “profanely mystical work of hyperpurple theory-porn.” It is fictional, and a little surreal, but I think the writing is more about the language and concepts than about narrative or representation. Not much happens in the book, but from another perspective, everything happens. Which of course is also analogous to the nature of sexual/erotic experience. A reviewer wrote: “It begins with a woman, Gemma, who inserts an ovoid object into her anus--and that's pretty much the entirety of what happens for the remaining 85 pages.” I wrote it for the pleasure of writing it, for my decadent enjoyment of the perverse textual fantasy.

Jess: Sounds highly original ;) How do you differentiate quality erotica (as an art form), from pornographic writing?

M.O.N.: I understand the erotica/pornography distinction as having everything to do with differences and modulations in the ontological status of the representation, in what a representation is. A photographic image of actual sex is different from an imaginative depiction of sex, which is in turn different from a concept or intellectual image of sex. On one end the spectrum the representation is materially of a piece with the event it represents. An original photograph is in fact a real impression of trace elements of the event, photons or whatever. On the other end the representation is more independent of the event, even impossible or sexual in an unimaginable way. Sex-thoughts, thank God, are not delimited by actual sex. How flat the world would be if that were not the case. Though of course there is also something torturous and intolerable in the way sex thoughts are bound to our bodies, senses, etc. Anyway, although these three levels (material, imaginative, intellectual/spiritual), which also turn up as a central theme in ObliviOnanisM, are interrelated and inseparable, there is a noticeable and palpable difference between representations which privilege one end of the spectrum or the other, or which put one end in the service of the other or vice-versa, a difference which is felt in connection to the style of our enjoyment of the representation, how we use it or let it resonate with the correlative levels of our being. This explains to some degree why ‘pornography’ is generically localized around the graphic depiction of actual sex and why ‘erotica’ is generically localized around the arts and writing. But it also helps us understand, and this is what most interests me, how the pornographic is not proscribed by explicit sexuality and at the same time how the erotic is not confined to implicit sexuality, or sex that signifies something beyond simple lust. For me the central question is the role of the imagination as the mediating term between matter and mind, specifically, whether the imagination is put in the service of restricting desire to the material or deployed to open desire beyond itself. That said, I am not in favor of hierarchizing erotica and pornography. As we know, a lot of erotica is merely dressed-up pornography, emotional pornography for instance, and conversely, there is something profoundly sublime in the shamelessly smutty and pornographic. So in the end I am favor of writing that somehow exacerbates the distinction between the two to a point of indistinction or at least confusion. Human desire is profoundly impossible and cannot mapped or regulated according the I-know-it-when-I-see-it kind of definiteness. So why not take writing to places where you explicitly do not know it when you see it, where you can no longer even ask, is this erotica or pornography?

Jess: Very interesting take on an age-old debate.  I shall now ask how you would respond to the following statement:

“I am very put off by the notion of 'literate smut', as if any porn is intellectual, that erotica needs to have a high and low art distinction. I think this is just a pretentious way for people to excuse their taste for pornography.”
-- originally posted on http://www.barbelith.com/topic/925

M.O.N.: I would say that the person sounds like a snob, like someone is who is accusing others of his or her own pretentiousness. At the same time the statement does properly call attention to the banal bait-and-switch logic according to which smutty literature pimps itself to society. The elephant in the room here is the erotic and pornographic dimensions of literature and writing per se.

Jess: What inspired you to write erotic stories/poems/etc.?

M.O.N.: The thrill of escape, of spontaneously doing something outré.

Jess: Do you always follow the "safe, sane, consensual" credo?

M.O.N.: The credo is not an issue for me. My sexual tastes/aesthetics are not of the dangerous or harmful variety.

Jess: What do you think readers will find most notable about your book(s)?

M.O.N.: I hope that they find it enjoyable and unique. It was a delight when David Peak remarked on Goodreads, “frankly, it's amazing to me that this book even exists.”

Jess: In order to write on certain experiences, you would have to either research or live the life. Which describes you as the writer?

M.O.N.: The writing is the experience, the composition is the (real) fantasy.

Jess: Do you think erotica caters to a male or female market (or does gender of the target audience not matter)?

M.O.N.: I am not familiar enough with the genre to say. I do not think gender matters. Ultimately it is a game, because everyone is both male and female, and neither. A game that is to be played!

Jess: Oh yeah! Are there any topics you will NOT tackle, with regards to sexual behaviors and attitudes?

M.O.N.: Again this is not an issue for me. I only tackle topics I want to, and do not worry about the others.

Jess: Please share with us a short excerpt and blurb of your work (10-100 words).

M.O.N.:

“Naturally she wanted her spit to drip by itself through her diaphanous panties onto the top of her pussy and suffuse the outside of its swelling lips with the wet gloss of a virtual tasting and tonguing. Naturally she did not want to manually short-circuit the process by using her hand, the tool of tools, to merely and messily move the saliva there. But even more naturally did she want to happen what actually did happen exactly by virtue of her wanting it to, within the thought-feeling-action dynamism of her desire. Here there was no question and answer, no before and after, no cause and effect. As if the force of wanting really burst out of relationality and achieved total creative transitivity, as if the subject-object correlation sodomitically suicided itself on its own phallic vector, Gemma wanted her slippery wanton saliva right onto her clit, drew it there via ducts no anatomist could ever discern. Without a doubt, the terrible seed of self-love embedded within her was spreading differentially in unpredictable, pestilential ways. Virally, Gemma’s whole body was becoming haptic.”

Jess: Share an excerpt of your favorite author’s work (10-100 words):

M.O.N.:

"The Sun exclusively loves the Night and directs its luminous violence, its ignoble shaft, toward the earth, but finds itself incapable of reaching the gaze or the night, even though the nocturnal terrestrial expanses head continuously toward the indecency of the solar ray. The solar annulus is the intact anus of her body at eighteen years to which nothing sufficiently blinding can be compared except the sun, even though the anus is night." (Bataille, Solar Anus)

Jess: Thanks so much for sharing your perspectives on the art of erotic writing :) Best wishes with both life and literature too!

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M.O.N. (in his/her own words):

I use my initials M.O.N. because in French they mean 'mine' and 'name' backwards.

My work is published by gnOme books: http://gnomebooks.wordpress.com

JESS C SCOTT:

Jess is the author/artist/non-conformist behind jessINK (her indie publishing division). One of her specializations is erotic literature.

If you are reading this and you write, in whatever genre, and would like to share your views via a similar interview, just check out/fill out the form at Author Interviews. Jess will email you with the link once it is posted.

Jess is available for interviews too. Drop her a note at missfeyATgmailDOTcom :)

Author Interview, Rodger Thornhill

Author Interview #11, with Rodger Thorhill (who writes romance erotica!)

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Jess: Have you written erotic-themed material? Why or why not?

Rodger: I have. The subject interests me, a lot.

Jess: Me too ;) How do you differentiate quality erotica (as an art form), from pornographic writing?

Rodger: Porn is simply tab A into slot B, or the same-sex equivalents. Erotica lets you know the characters as more than puppets.

Jess: Yes. I shall now ask how you would respond to the following statement:

“I am very put off by the notion of 'literate smut', as if any porn is intellectual, that erotica needs to have a high and low art distinction. I think this is just a pretentious way for people to excuse their taste for pornography.”
-- originally posted on http://www.barbelith.com/topic/925

Rodger: High art, low art . . . who cares? In the visual arts, I can enjoy Jackson Pollack as well as Norman Rockwell. Not everything I read is "literature" as well.

Jess: What inspired you to write erotic stories/poems/etc.?

Rodger: My late wife enjoyed erotica, but so many of the paperbacks available then were pretty poorly written, and, worse, treated the women characters badly. I felt I could write better than that.

Jess: Do you always follow the "safe, sane, consensual" credo?

Anon: Consensual, yes. I've dabbled only a time or two with NC scenes and did not enjoy them one bit. Safe and sane? Well the three works I have are pretty vanilla because they are mostly true and involve two partners just starting out. Exploring each others' kinks comes later.

Jess: In order to write on certain experiences, you would have to either research or live the life. Which describes you as the writer?

Rodger: Some of of both. My late wife and I were nibbling around the edges of polyamory before the word had been invented. Anything involving BDSM beyond a little pretend bondage, I'd have to ask others.

Jess: Do you think erotica caters to a male or female market (or does gender of the target audience not matter)?

Rodger: I truly hope it would appeal to both sexes. Since my wife's passing, though, I've been writing for myself.

Jess: Are there any topics you will NOT tackle, with regards to sexual behaviors and attitudes?

Rodger: The NC stuff I alluded to above.

Jess: Please share with us a short excerpt and blurb of your work (10-100 words).

Rodger:

We kissed intermittently for about half an hour as we lay on the floor. Still shy about touching her too intimately, I caressed only her face and neck; she returned the favor a little more boldly down my chest. Gradually I wound up mostly on top of her and we clasped each other. She was aroused enough that her nipples showed under the sweater and I thrilled to feel her breasts move against me when we hugged but I was still too shy even to try cupping them through the sweater yet.

Jess: Thanks so much for sharing your perspectives on the art of erotic writing :) Best wishes with both life and literature too!

* * * * *

RODGER THORNHILL (in his own words):

Sexuality is a part of being human. Those who would suppress it are sweeping against the tide. To quote Robert Heinlein: "When any government, or any church for that matter, undertakes to say to its subjects, This you may not read, this you must not see, this you are forbidden to know, the end result is tyranny and oppression no matter how holy the motives."

You can email Rodger Thornhill at roger_thornhillATawesomeauthorsDOTorg

His books can be found via his Amazon Author Profile.

JESS C SCOTT:

Jess is the author/artist/non-conformist behind jessINK (her indie publishing division). One of her specializations is erotic literature.

If you are reading this and you write, in whatever genre, and would like to share your views via a similar interview, just check out/fill out the form at Author Interviews. Jess will email you with the link once it is posted.

Jess is available for interviews too. Drop her a note at missfeyATgmailDOTcom :)

4:Play Review

Review on 4:Play (full version / reader email):

So:

((((((( HUG )))))))

Jess, I'm really enjoying your writing, so far. For what it's worth, I happen to earn really good fees for being a "book doctor"/ "book whisperer" for other writers. Well, my honest opinion is that your writing is engaging, compelling, highly original, and... extremely well-crafted. Hope this doesn't make me sound too cynical as an editor, but not many writers have your combination of:

(i) creative genius and the originality; AND
(ii) the level of craft and skill to express that powerfully and effectively.

As a consultative editor/ "combat editor", I get hammered DAILY by examples of how really talented writers can fail to do justice to their talent because their craft is weak or because they are not aware that writing is a craft not a form of occupational therapy. Not you. So thank you for respecting me, as your reader, by mastering the "craft" side of your writing so well and using it to help your readers "get" your work!

In my humble opinion, you hit the sweet spot between "substance" and "entertainment". The fellow writer in me loves the blithe (but very assured) way in which you control ( absolutely control...) this balancing act, in a genre where it matters so much. Heh, I *love* your way with words ("glass practice weapon of choice" got an air punch from me, and I chuckled over the idea -- also in Oral Fixation -- of a guy thinking casually of jizzing all over his ex-GF's panty/ goodie drawer).

My favourite story so far is the (last) one about Yin and Julian; it's a serious piece but you control the "seriousness" so well that it kind of mugs your reader; I particularly like the you maintain certain level of "breeziness" so that your reader never feels like he/she is being taken hostage by the author's agenda:

"She knew she was safe with Yin. He'd never grope her, teabag her if he found her asleep or passed out with her mouth wide open, exploit her for his own gain."

:D

Okay, I'll "shut up" already! Take care.

-- XP | Reader/Customer Email, 2012 (Asia)

-- Short Version posted on 4:Play page on jessINK

Author Interview, Anonymous



After the Bath, by Edgar Degas

Author Interview #10, with anonymous author #1 (who might write under a pseudonym one day--so as not to shock and offend many of his current readers)...

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Jess: Have you written erotic-themed material? Why or why not?

Anon: I have. Because human sexuality (namely, mine) interests me, and fiction allows us to explore things in a sort of intellectual playground environment where consequences cease to matter, thus allowing for experimentation that might be impractical or unwise in the real world. Erotica is to sex what action/adventures are to testosterone.

Jess: Cool! How do you differentiate quality erotica (as an art form), from pornographic writing?

Anon: I'm tempted to say "the caliber of the writing", but I suspect that the ugly truth is that good prose in erotica is like a clean and well-informed employee at a comic book shop: a pleasant surprise, but not exactly necessary.

No, I suspect the thing that most differentiates erotica from porn is the emphasis on the psychological/emotional aspects of human sexuality. Porn treats sex like biology, where erotica treats it like the delectable desert at the end of a long, intricate, many-course meal. Erotica is dark chocolate melting on the tongue; porn is Lucky Charms eaten out of the box by handfuls.

Jess: Very lyrical ;) I shall now ask how you would respond to the following statement:

“I am very put off by the notion of 'literate smut', as if any porn is intellectual, that erotica needs to have a high and low art distinction. I think this is just a pretentious way for people to excuse their taste for pornography.”
-- originally posted on http://www.barbelith.com/topic/925

Anon: I would not deign to respond to such a statement, since it is likely posited by someone who has been taught to view sexuality as a vice and is likely not in touch with his/her own sensual nature.

Jess: What a succinct response :) What inspired you to write erotic stories/poems/etc.?

Anon: What were, at the time, unrequited fantasies and curiosities. As explained above, fiction allows a playground where the impractical, unsafe or impossible can be explored in great detail. Later, erotica allowed a place to condense memories and experiences into a more concrete, fictionalized account that could be revisited and enjoyed again.

Jess: Do you always follow the "safe, sane, consensual" credo?

Anon: Technically, yes. I do tend toward a more kinky angle where the consensual bit is often a little murky. I suspect all adults know that sometimes it is better not to have permission. In my fiction, however, as in real life, it is only sexy if her "resistance" is obviously token, covering up her obvious hopes that he does not abandon the pursuit of her.

Jess: What do you think readers will find most notable about your book(s)?

Anon: Hopefully the believability of the interactions, the not-just-sexual depth of the relationships, and my ability (which I admit may only exist in my own head) to understand and write from the woman's perspective.

Jess: In order to write on certain experiences, you would have to either research or live the life. Which describes you as the writer?

Anon: Initially, I wrote neither from research of real life. I wrote from imagination. It was surprisingly effective.

Later, of course, I added repeated layers of experience to my stories. Also, having discussed erotica and sexuality with many people in a (mostly) platonic environment, I suppose that would count as research.

Jess: Do you think erotica caters to a male or female market (or does gender of the target audience not matter)?

Anon: I suspect that, while interesting debate on the topic is surely possible (and probably a lot of fun), we all know that literary erotica caters to a mostly female audience. The reasons for this are frustratingly stereotypical: men have the capability to be fully aroused by the mere sight of an attractive woman, whereas women are more drawn to the psychological processes of attraction. Literary erotica excels at the latter, this making it ideal for the lip-biting of sensuous women, but less geared toward the hair-trigger visual-arousal of the average man.

Jess: Are there any topics you will NOT tackle, with regards to sexual behaviors and attitudes?

Anon: Not much. The only prerequisite is that I, as the author, find it intriguing and attractive. Thus, for example, I would write very bad homosexual erotica.

Jess: Please share with us a short excerpt and blurb of your work (10-100 words).

Anon:

Call it inhibition, or propriety, or simply not being "that kind of girl", it didn't matter. He scolded himself for becoming distracted, even as they sat and talked, with thoughts like 'beyond that closed door she gets undressed every night', and 'just down that hall is the shower where she soaps herself up every morning'. When she took his glass to the kitchen, he actually smacked himself lightly on the cheek, ashamed of his erotic daydreams, even while in her presence.

Jess: Thanks so much for sharing your perspectives on the art of erotic writing :) Best wishes with both life and literature too!

* * * * *

ANONYMOUS (in his own words):

Anonymous (not the Anonymous who is the author of "Primary Colors", although that would be nice) is author of young adult novels with a worldwide readership. He also blogs, rambles, and offers opinions to anyone willing to listen. Or not.

JESS C SCOTT:

Jess is the author/artist/non-conformist behind jessINK (her indie publishing division). One of her specializations is erotic literature.

If you are reading this and you write, in whatever genre, and would like to share your views via a similar interview, just check out/fill out the form at Author Interviews. Jess will email you with the link once it is posted.

Jess is available for interviews too. Drop her a note at missfeyATgmailDOTcom :)

Author Interview, Larry Frisby

Image copyright 2011 Beverly Brown

 Author Interview #9, with author of "The Pink Machine," Larry Frisby!

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Jess: Have you written erotic-themed material? Why or why not?

Larry: I've written two erotic/experimental books(both related), called "The Pink Machine" and "Magenta." I wrote them because life chose to rip something out of me; and, because I'm a writer, it came out in written form.

Jess: Ah, that good ole "rip" feeling. How do you differentiate quality erotica (as an art form), from pornographic writing?

Larry: To an artist, I think the distinction would be as plain as the difference between lovemaking and rape. Artistic erotica is a portal into a universe of agony, ecstasy, transmutation and connectivity, while mere pornography, in comparison, is more like a dirty film of sticky dust on the skin of what we find beneath the surface of psychology and sex/sensuality.

Jess: Excellent -- I couldn't have said it better myself ;)! I shall now ask how you would respond to the following statement:

“I am very put off by the notion of 'literate smut', as if any porn is intellectual, that erotica needs to have a high and low art distinction. I think this is just a pretentious way for people to excuse their taste for pornography.”
-- originally posted on http://www.barbelith.com/topic/925

Larry: First, I would question the creative depth perception of a mind this narrowly composed. You almost have to be qualified to comment meaningfully on erotic art; because, if you're not, no amount of intellectual power you may otherwise possess will enable you to see through or past the sticky film (let alone the skin) I mentioned above that forms the border between these ideas. An outsider would assume we're just splitting creative/literary hairs, with no true sense of the world they stood on the intangible cusp of.

Jess: What inspired you to write erotic stories/poems/etc.?

Larry: An extreme intersection of loss and desire. A beautiful and faithless muse. A heart that roamed and returned. The truth that, for all its brutal dispassion, has only one face.

Jess: Do you always follow the "safe, sane, consensual" credo?

Larry: If I ever did follow any such path, I did so unintentionally.

Jess: What do you think readers will find most notable about your book(s)?

Larry: The recurring sense that no deep is too deep, and the almost neurological texture of the narrative, as if it were composed from a language pattern more consistent with thought than with speech.

Jess: In order to write on certain experiences, you would have to either research or live the life. Which describes you as the writer?

Larry: My writing has always been rooted in an organic combination of both the lived and the learned (there being only a subtle distinction between the two in my opinion).

Jess: I have a natural tendency to blend fact and the imagination too. Do you think erotica caters to a male or female market (or does gender of the target audience not matter)?

Larry: From one work to the next, the attraction or weight regarding gender will either vary or be irrelevant. In the case of my writing, my "target" audience is likely more female. Both books I mentioned are narrated by and from a female perspective (though I'm a boy).

Jess: Are there any topics you will NOT tackle, with regards to sexual behaviors and attitudes?

Larry: To my knowledge, there are no sexual "lines" I didn't cross in writing these books, to the extent that I know I've alienated large bodies of potential interest in them. But I'm an artist and a person first and a seeker of publication second.

Jess: It helps to make that clear distinction from the onset (depending on a writer's goals). Please share with us a short excerpt and blurb of your work (10-100 words).

Larry:

From The Pink Machine (Alicia speaking):

In the next painting, I'm wearing white leotards and bunched up grey legwarmers. Hair's pulled back in a ponytail. I'm posted up next to a mirror paneled wall on one foot with my other leg held up alongside my upper body so my thighs form a level line that goes from ankle to ankle(basically, the splits). The room's a small dance studio with a wood handrail running the length of the wall. My right hand's on the rail balancing me. The other is up at the base of my calf. I'm facing my reflection. I'm 37. It's a year before The End. I look at the painting the way I think you would. (I know you. I told you so on the phone today: 9-3-'05.) You see a woman breathing. A woman who can swim. A girl who lived over ten thousand days before you came along(half of those days while you were...where you've always been). You usually see all the soft, fuzzy things before you see the...Other Things. Soft cookie filled with salty pink cream. You see that I'm by myself. That I've been thinking; and you know I waste no time alone. The me in the painting is listening to The Beatles(guess what song). Outside of the moment of the painting, you see how my right hand slid from my calf down my leg. Toffee chip finger tips(or small, dead flowers) that signed their names. Came to the place between my legs. A little pile of snow that fits in my hand. One long toffee chip pushes warm wet snow between the lips. For a while, I(we) lose track of the original pretense of self admiration and I'm just fucking my finger through my leotards. I did take a few long moments to look at my Girl before I stuffed the gag in her mouth. She looked like the bottom of a white boat floating in a world where the water's made of air and the air's made of milk.

Jess: Share an excerpt of your favorite author’s work (10-100 words):

Larry:

Nothing's within reach right now, but here's a short list of my favorite authors: Chuck Palahniuk, Cormack McCarthy, Nick Toches, John Fowles, and Ursula K Le Guin.

Jess: Please let readers know where they can find out more about you/your work.

Larry:

I can be found at larry.frisby on Facebook.

Jess: Thanks so much for sharing your perspectives on the art of erotic writing :) Best wishes with both life and literature too!

* * * * *

LARRY FRISBY (in his own words):

I just turned 40. I have a very unusual story that I've always found it difficult to summarize. A detailed portrait of my life can be found in my Facebook image files. Here are the bare bones though: I'm a personal fitness trainer, have a 15 year old daughter, have been writing for 20 years, I've never sought publication of any of the seven books I've written(until this year). I write fiction fused/saturated with biography, I write philosophy, poetry and anything else that comes to me. I have no diploma or GED but have always taken both my daughter's and my own mind very seriously; I've taught her everything from existential psychology to Egyptian history and Hindu mythology.

JESS C SCOTT:

Jess is the author/artist/non-conformist behind jessINK (her indie publishing division). One of her specializations is erotic literature.

If you are reading this and you write, in whatever genre, and would like to share your views via a similar interview, just check out/fill out the form at Author Interviews. Jess will email you with the link once it is posted.

Jess is available for interviews too. Drop her a note at missfeyATgmailDOTcom :)

Author Interview, Juliana Sliema

 Author Interview #8, with author of the Hot Wheels series, Juliana Sliema!

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Jess: Have you written erotic-themed material? Why or why not?

Juliana: I dabbled in many other genres, but had not considered erotica until recently. What repulsed me before was the awkward "purple prose" that is often used in erotica. I decided it would be a challenge. As an author you have to push yourself to do things outside your comfort zone, so I tried it. I was hooked.

Jess: How do you differentiate quality erotica (as an art form), from pornographic writing?

Juliana: For me this is a difficult difference to determine. The first drafts of my first erotic story were plain pornography. The line is extremely fine, but the most important aspects are characters and story. Do they change each other? Do they become different? Do they stay the same? Why? The sex also should be necessary for the story. If the plumber comes over it is plausible that the lonely housewife wants to sleep with him, but the reader has to understand the reasons. The better the reader understands the reasons the farther removed from pornography it is. To be honest, I'm still struggling myself on where to draw the line.

Jess: That struggle could be part of the creative tension ;) I shall now ask how you would respond to the following statement:

“I am very put off by the notion of 'literate smut', as if any porn is intellectual, that erotica needs to have a high and low art distinction. I think this is just a pretentious way for people to excuse their taste for pornography.”
-- originally posted on http://www.barbelith.com/topic/925

Juliana: I doubt the person that made the statement has ever tried to write erotica. The elements that make a good erotica story are the same elements that make any other story good. The only difference is the focus of the action, but the same goes for sci-fi, or fantasy. The focus in sci-fi lies on technology, in fantasy it lies on magic, in erotica on sex and pleasure. Just as there is bad sci-fi and fantasy, there is bad erotica, which in many cases is no more than pornography, simply describing the motions.

Jess: What inspired you to write erotic stories/poems/etc.?

Juliana: I have written as long as I can remember. Boredom inspired me initially, I would write in class, in meetings, conferences, late sleepless nights. There was a point where I was no longer bored and then I stopped writing, until I picked up a short story book by Neil Gaiman. He inspired me to start again.

Jess: Do you always follow the "safe, sane, consensual" credo?

Juliana: Not always. Let's be honest, life doesn't follow those rules, so why would the book? I ignore the safe part in most stories, because the risk adds to the thrill and it is a fantasy, so it is always safe. Sane goes out the window pretty quickly for any author. I do try to keep it consensual, but it is rare where the power distribution between to people is completely equal. Straight up kidnapping and abuse rape is completely out of the question for me. I just don't feel comfortable writing about that in a positive light.

Jess: ITA (I totally agree) with much of what you said! What do you think readers will find most notable about your book(s)?

Juliana: Readers will be surprised by how much they like the characters and remember them. They might also be caught off guard by a plot twist here and there. Also, the sex it pretty hot, but that goes without saying. It is probably harder to write sex that isn't hot and steamy.

Jess: In order to write on certain experiences, you would have to either research or live the life. Which describes you as the writer?

Juliana: Living all the events of my characters is impossible. I just don't have the time and resources. Of course, I have the advantage of a cosmopolitan background and as a global nomad have been exposed to a lot. Research is a great way to fill in the gaps.

Jess: Cool -- I love the whole cosmopolitan/global nomad thing too. Do you think erotica caters to a male or female market (or does gender of the target audience not matter)?

Juliana: As males are generally more visual, I expect erotica to cater more to the female market. A male audience is likely to overlook erotica writing. Part of that is social expectations and the other part is the fact that males are exposed to different erotic stimuli growing up. Overall, I think both genders can equally enjoy it, I just think the female audience is more likely to turn to erotica.

Jess: Are there any topics you will NOT tackle, with regards to sexual behaviors and attitudes?

Juliana: As I hinted as before there are some sexual behaviors I will not tackle: rape and incest. I realize there is a market for this, but I don't feel comfortable writing it. From a literary point of view that would probably not be good for the writing in any case.

Jess: Please share with us a short excerpt and blurb of your work (10-100 words).

Juliana:

Dominka is drawn to Andel, a cultured and sophisticated man hiding a dark secret. She is determined to uncover the secrets he holds and relishes the fear he evokes around her. She isn't exactly a good girl either, though.

-- Eternal Vengeance by Juliana Sliema

Jess: Share an excerpt of your favorite author’s work (10-100 words):

Juliana:

There's never been a true war that wasn't fought between two sets of people who were certain they were in the right.

-- American Gods by Neil Gaiman

Jess: Please let readers know where they can find out more about you/your work.

Juliana:

My character Rosie has taken on a life of her own and started her own twitter. She sometimes has interesting things to say: https://twitter.com/#!/RosietheTrucker

Also check out my amazon author page, as soon as my website is ready it will be posted there: http://www.amazon.com/Juliana-Sliema/e/B006YC6ICM

Jess: Thanks so much for sharing your perspectives on the art of erotic writing :) Best wishes with both life and literature too!

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JULIANA SLIEMA:

Juliana Sliema knows the value of keeping the mystery alive. She has traveled the world. Now she writes erotica and has melted laptops and started fires ever since.

Juliana on Twitter and Amazon.

JESS C SCOTT:

Jess is the author/artist/non-conformist behind jessINK (her indie publishing division). One of her specializations is erotic literature.

If you are reading this and you write, in whatever genre, and would like to share your views via a similar interview, just check out/fill out the form at Author Interviews. Jess will email you with the link once it is posted.

Jess is available for interviews too. Drop her a note at missfeyATgmailDOTcom :)